Colorado Gun Laws/Restrictions

Code Sections

18-12-102, et seq.

Types of Illegal Firearms

Possession, sale, transfer, or manufacture of the below firearms is illegal:

• Firearms with silencer
• Machine guns
• Short rifle/shotguns
• Ballistic knife
• Firearms with ID or serial number altered or removed.

Waiting Period Before Purchase

• None

Who May Not Own Guns

Colorado prohibits several different categories of individuals from owning or possessing pistols:

• Minors (under 18)
• Those previously convicted of felony attempt or conspiracy to commit such offenses.

Laws Prohibiting Firearms On or Near School Grounds

• Class 6 Felony. 18-12-105.5

Effective March 20, 2013, Colorado residents will pay a $10 fee for the transfer of a firearm. There is no state permit required for the purchase of any rifle, shotgun or handgun.

Dealers are required to keep a record on the retail sale, rental, or exchange of handguns. The record shall include the name of the person to whom the handgun is transferred, his or her age, occupation, and residence, and the make, caliber, finish and serial number of the handgun, and the date of the transfer and name of employee making the transfer. The record book shall be open at all times to the inspection of any duly authorized police officer.

Effective July 1, 2013, universal background checks are required of all private sales. Before a gun show vendor transfers or attempts to transfer a firearm at a gun show, he or she shall require that a background check, in accordance with the national instant criminal background check system, be conducted of the prospective transferee, and obtain approval of the transfer from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation through a licensed gun dealer. It is also unlawful to transfer a firearm if any part of the transaction takes place at a gun show, unless a licensed dealer first obtains a background check on the prospective transferee. This does not apply to firearms defined as antiques, curios or relics under federal law.

A Colorado resident who is otherwise qualified can purchase or receive delivery of a rifle or shotgun in a state contiguous to Colorado, so long as the sale fully complies with the legal conditions of sale in both states and the purchaser and seller have complied with federal law applicable to interstate transactions.

• Rifles with a barrel under 16 inches and an overall length under 26 inches, or a shotgun with a barrel under 18 inches and an overall length under 26 inches.
• Rifles that come with over a 15 round capacity magazine from the manufacturer. (Does not include .22LR tube-fed rifles or tubular magazines contained in a lever action rifle of any caliber.)
• A fixed, tubular shotgun magazine that holds more than 28 inches of shotgun shells, including any extension device that is attached to the magazine and holds additional shells.
• Shotguns that come with a non-tubular, detachable magazine, box, drum, feed strip, or similar device that is capable of accepting more than 8 shotgun shells when combined with a fixed magazine.
• Handguns that come with over a 15 round capacity magazine from the manufacturer.
• Firearm with an altered, or removed, serial mark or identification number.

Denver and Denver County Restrictions:

• All semi-automatic, center-fire rifles with a detachable magazine with a capacity of fifteen (15) or more rounds.
• All semi-automatic shotguns with a folding stock or a capacity of more than six (6) rounds OR both.
• All semi-automatic pistols that are modifications of rifles having the same make, caliber, and action design but a shorter barrel and no rear stock or modifications of fully automatic weapons originally designed to accept magazines with a capacity of fifteen (15) or more rounds.

• Magazines exceeding 15 rounds.
• A non-tubular, detachable magazine, box, drum, feed strip, or similar device that is capable of accepting more than 8 shotgun shells when combined with a fixed magazine.

State Statute or Definition: (18-12-101 Stun gun definition: Device capable of temporarily immobilizing a person by the infliction of an electrical charge.)

• Use of stun gun in commission of criminal offense is a Class 5 felony (18-12-106.5)

• Device made or adapted to muffle the report of firearm.

• Ballistic knife

On and after July 1, 2013, it will be unlawful to possess, sell or transfer a "large capacity magazine." The definition of a "large capacity magazine" includes those magazines or any devices that are fixed, or detachable and can hold more than 15 rounds or be readily converted to hold more than fifteen rounds. The prohibition on possession of a "large capacity magazine" does not apply to a person who owned the magazine on July 1, 2013 and who maintains "continuous possession" of the magazine.

A shotgun magazine may not accept more than eight shotgun shells if it is a detachable magazine or hold more than twenty-eight inches of shotgun shells if it is a tubular magazine. A .22 caliber rimfire rifle or lever action rifle that can hold more than 15 rounds in a fixed tubular magazine is not included as a "large capacity magazine."

It is unlawful for any person convicted of a felony or conspiracy or attempt to commit a felony, or misdemeanor domestic violence or adjudicated delinquent for a felony to possess a firearm.

It is unlawful for any person under 18 to possess a handgun, and it is unlawful to provide or permit a juvenile to possess a handgun, with exceptions for attendance at a hunter's safety course or firearms safety course, or engaging in lawful target shooting, or hunting or trapping with a valid license, or traveling with an unloaded handgun to or from any of these activities, or while on real property under the control of the juvenile's parent, legal guardian or grandparent and who has the permission of the parent or legal guardian to possess a handgun, or while at the juvenile's residence and with permission of parent or legal guardian possesses a handgun for self-defense.

It is unlawful to carry a firearm concealed on or about one's person without a permit, except for a person in his or her own dwelling, place of business, or on property owned or controlled by him or her.

A permit is not required to carry a handgun where carrying firearms is legal, if the handgun is not concealed. A handgun is not considered concealed if it is in the possession of a person who is in a private automobile or other private means of conveyance who is carrying it for a legal use, or the handgun is in the possession of a person who is legally engaged in hunting activities within the state. Exempt from the requirement of a permit to carry a concealed handgun are peace officers of Colorado, U.S. probation officers, law enforcement officers employed by jurisdiction outside the state, so long as the employing jurisdiction exempts peace officers employed by jurisdictions within Colorado from any concealed weapons laws in effect in those jurisdictions; as well as a retired peace officer, meeting prescribed criteria.

A sheriff shall issue a permit to carry a concealed handgun to an applicant who is a legal resident of the state; is at least twenty-one; is not ineligible to possess a firearm, has not been convicted of perjury in relation to an application for a concealed weapon permit; does not chronically and habitually abuse alcohol; is not an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance as provided in federal law and regulations; is not subject to a restraining order in effect at the time the application is submitted, or a permanent restraining order, or a temporary restraining order in effect at the time the application is submitted; and demonstrates competency with a firearm.

However, the Sheriff can deny the permit if he reasonably believes that documented previous behavior by the applicant makes it likely that the applicant will present a danger to self or others if the permit is issued. The sheriff shall suspend a permit following issuance if he has a reasonable belief that the permittee no longer meets the criteria above, until the matter is resolved and the Sheriff determines that the permittee is eligible to possess the permit. There is an appeals process and judicial review of a denial or revocation.

The permit is valid for five years and may be renewed. It is effective in all areas of the state except where it is not lawful to possess any firearm. A peace officer may temporarily disarm a permittee incident to a lawful stop of the permittee. The permit does not authorize the permittee to carry a concealed handgun into a place where carrying firearms is prohibited by federal law; or into a public building at which security personnel regularly screen for weapons upon entry; or onto real property of a public school except that the permittee may have the handgun in his or her vehicle. If the permittee is not in the vehicle, the handgun must be in a compartment within the vehicle and the vehicle locked.

A permittee employed by a school district as a security officer may carry a concealed handgun onto the real property of a public school while on duty. A permittee may carry a concealed handgun on undeveloped real property owned by a school district that is used for hunting or other shooting sports.

A Sheriff may issue a temporary emergency permit to carry a concealed handgun to a person whom the Sheriff has reason to believe may be in immediate danger. Temporary permittees must meet all the requirements of regular permittees except demonstrating competence with a handgun and must only be at least eighteen years of age. The permit is valid for 90 days and may be renewed once.

At all times during which the permittee is in possession of a concealed handgun, he or she must carry the permit and a valid photo ID. The Sheriff shall maintain a list of persons to whom permits are issued, and upon request by another criminal justice agency for law enforcement purposes, the Sheriff may share information from the list for the purpose of determining the validity of a permit. A Sheriff shall not share information from the list of permittees with a law enforcement agency for the purpose of creating a statewide database of permittees on or after July 1, 2007.

A permit to carry a concealed handgun or weapon issued to a person twenty-one or older by a state that recognizes the validity of permits issued under Colorado law shall be valid in Colorado in all the same respects as Colorado permits. A permit issued under the concealed carry law as it existed prior to May 18, 2003, shall permanently expire on June 30, 2007, or the expiration date on the permit, whichever occurs first. If that permit application included fingerprinting and background check, the permittee may apply for renewal, but otherwise must apply for a new permit.

It is unlawful to have a firearm other than a handgun in or on any motor vehicle unless the chamber is unloaded. Firearms in a snowmobile must be unloaded and cased or inserted in a scabbard. It is unlawful to carry or possess a firearm without legal authority on the property of, or within any building in which the chambers, galleries, or offices of the general assembly are located, or in which a legislative hearing or meeting is being or is to be conducted, or in which the official offices of any member, officer, or employee of the general assembly are located. It is unlawful to possess, without legal authority, a firearm in or on the real estate of any school, college, university, or seminary, with some exceptions.

A machine gun is defined as any firearm that shoots automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger. It is unlawful to possess a machine gun, but it is an affirmative defense to a charge of possession if the person accused was a peace officer or member of the armed forces acting in the lawful discharge of his or her duties, or that the person has a valid permit and license for possession of a machine gun.

It is unlawful to possess a firearm while under the influence of alcohol or controlled substances.

It is unlawful to discharge a firearm from any aircraft or motor vehicle.

It is unlawful for a person to knowingly and unlawfully possess a firearm if the manufacturer's serial number or other distinguishing number or identification mark, has been removed.

It is unlawful to possess a rifle with a barrel under 16 inches and an overall length under 26 inches or a shotgun with a barrel under 18 inches and an overall length under 26 inches, but it is an affirmative defense to a charge of possession if the person accused was a peace officer acting in the lawful discharge of his or her duties, or the person has a valid permit and license for its possession.

Local governments are prohibited from maintaining a list or other record or database of persons who purchase or exchange firearm or leave them for repair or sale on consignment, and persons who transfer firearms unless they are federally licensed firearms dealers; or of the descriptions, including serial numbers, of such firearms. Local governments may not enact any ordinance, regulation, or other law that prohibits the sale, purchase, or possession of a firearm that a person may lawfully sell, purchase, or possess under state or federal law. Local governments may prohibit the open carrying of a firearm in a building or specific area within the local governments jurisdiction if they post signs at the public entrances to the building or area informing persons that open carrying is prohibited.

A person or public entity may not bring an action, other than a product liability action, against a firearms manufacturer, importer, or dealer for any remedy arising from physical or emotional injury, physical damage, or death caused by the discharge of a firearm or ammunition. In no type of action shall a firearms or ammunition manufacturer, importer, or dealer be held liable as a third party for the action of another person.

In a product liability action, the actual discharge of a firearm or ammunition shall be the proximate cause of injury, damage or death resulting from the use of such product and not the inherent capability of the product to cause such injury, damage or death. The manufacturer's, importer's, or distributor's placement of a firearm or ammunition in the stream of commerce shall not be deemed sufficient to constitute the proximate cause of injury resulting from a third party's use of a product.

No local governing entity shall prohibit travel with a weapon for hunting or lawful protection of a person or property.

§ 29-11.7-101. Legislative declaration

(2) Based on the findings specified in subsection (1) of this section, the general assembly concludes that:

(a) The regulation of firearms is a matter of statewide concern;

(b) It is necessary to provide statewide laws concerning the possession and ownership of a firearm to ensure that law-abiding persons are not unfairly placed in the position of unknowingly committing crimes involving firearms.

§ 18-12-105.6. Limitation on local ordinances regarding firearms in private vehicles

(2)(a) Based on the findings specified in subsection (1) of this section, the general assembly concludes that the carrying of weapons in private automobiles or other private means of conveyance for hunting or for lawful protection of a person's or another's person or property while traveling into, through, or within, a municipal, county, or city and county jurisdiction, regardless of the number of times the person stops in a jurisdiction, is a matter of statewide concern and is not an offense.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no municipality, county, or city and county shall have the authority to enact or enforce any ordinance or resolution that would restrict a person's ability to travel with a weapon in a private automobile or other private means of conveyance for hunting or for lawful protection of a person's or another's person or property while traveling into, through, or within, a municipal, county, or city and county jurisdiction, regardless of the number of times the person stops in a jurisdiction.

§ 29-11.7-104. Regulation--carrying--posting

A local government may enact an ordinance, regulation, or other law that prohibits the open carrying of a firearm in a building or specific area within the local government's jurisdiction. If a local government enacts an ordinance, regulation, or other law that prohibits the open carrying of a firearm in a building or specific area, the local government shall post signs at the public entrances to the building or specific area informing persons that the open carrying of firearms is prohibited in the building or specific area.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no municipality, county, or city and county shall have the authority to enact or enforce any ordinance or resolution that would restrict a person's ability to travel with a weapon in a private automobile or other private means of conveyance for hunting or for lawful protection of a person's or another's person or property while traveling into, through, or within, a municipal, county, or city and county jurisdiction, regardless of the number of times the person stops in a jurisdiction.

The Colorado Supreme Court held that state laws that expressly preempted firearms regulation unconstitutionally infringed on Denver's home rule authority with respect to ordinance that address the open carrying of firearms and banning assault weapons and Saturday night specials. State v. City and County of Denver, 139 P.3d 635 (Colo. 2006).

Col.Rev.Stat. 12-26-101 et seq.,12-26.1-101 et seq., 12-27-101; 18-1-704 et seq., 13-21-504 and 13-21-504.5, 18- 9-106, 18-12-101 et seq., 18-12-201 et. seq., 24-20-201 et seq., 24-23.5-424, 30-10-523, 33-6-125, 33-14-117.